AnortHea
AnortHea is the largest nation in the Otherworld of Urdhe, a world separated from our own by frequency variation. Since the invention of Gateway technology in the 1960's, the history and society of Earth and Urdhe have become inextricably entwined, for good or for ill. Though the road ahead is unclear, today may be the golden age of tourism and commerce between the worlds. __toc__ =History= =Society= Languages Nordiche is the predominant language of AnortHea, with roughly thirty million native speakers in the nation. Beyond AnortHea’s borders, Nordiche is the common trade tongue for a further two to three million people along the continental coast. As of 2007 an estimated 1,800,000 Earthlings have learned the language to fluency, most of them residents of the gateway cities. Two other, older languages are widely used in the nation: Enkuraka in the northeast and Sabhani in the south, each with some ten to twelve million primary speakers. Despite the efforts of linguistic purists, the difference between the three languages has been eroding steadily since the construction of the River Road. All three are closely related to begin with; historically, Enkurakha and Sabhani had not diverged from each other very long before Nordiche developed in the land between them. Another factor is the written form of Nordiche, which accommodates a wide variety of regional dialects and is used in standard form throughout the nation. Transcribed into this script, the three languages do not vary much more widely than the range of Nordiche dialects. Government AnortHea is a federation of nine territories, each ruled by a coalition of tribal leaders. All are unified under the flag of the tribe PacHail, whose right to rule is supported by continued signs of favor from the powers of Tun Maiako. This government takes the form of a constitutional balance between the chieftain of tribe PacHail, who bears the title of Peric PacHail, and an assembly of three councils: The Craft Council (Virenoe HetHansu) consists of the First from eight of the nine vordhu, who are selected by tiered systems of competition within their crafts. The Temple Council (Virenoe MaikHansu), headed by the First of the Skaltu, is a forum to which any ordained devotional order may send a representative. The Royal Council (Regahiru PacHail) formally consists of the Peric and the eight territorial governors. With the circle of advisors around all nine of them, however, the Royal Court is informally a body of usually more than a hundred members. The current ruler is Sinulgrad VI Peric PacHail, 57, who like his father and grandfather is both Peric PacHail and First of the Skaltu. This alignment of political and religious power is viewed by most AnortHeans as a sign of particular favor; with the Long War finally ended during his reign, Sinulgrad VI is currently very popular with his subjects and respected even by his political opponents. MaiHardhu Neighboring Nations =Nature= Ecology Nonhuman Races Unearthly Phenomena =Interaction with Earth= =Join in= Please see the Discussion page for information about joining the Big Elsewhere project. Category: